Jesus told them this story: “A man had two sons. The younger son told his father, ‘I want my share of your estate now before you die.’ So his father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons. A few days later this younger son packed all his belongings and moved to a distant land, and there he wasted all his money in wild living… a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve. He persuaded a local farmer to hire him, and the man sent him into his fields to feed the pigs. The young man became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good to him…
“When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, ‘At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger! I will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant.”’ Luke 15:11-32, NLT.
An aphorism I used to hear was, “I feel like a nickel waiting for change.” This was usually said after someone did something incredibly embarrassing or stupid. That’s probably what the Prodigal Son was feeling as he sat in a pig stye, muddy, smelling, and competing with pigs for food.
And no human would give him the time of day or offer him any food. Talk about a “nickel waiting for change.”
What a contrast this was to the time when he lived with his brother and father, when he was entitled, comfortable, and had access to good food. But we all know that we tend to take things for granted. He was full of himself. Arrogant and proud. Filled with hubris which enabled him to say to his Father, “Give me my portion of the inheritance,” even though his father was nowhere near death when inheritances are usually divided up.
It took the company of pigs to make him realize how low he had gone. “Oinks” and snorts replaced the music of family conversations. Pig food, served on the ground, was not even near the lovely meals his father’s dinner table hosted. And how he must have longed for his comfortable bed.
In a moment of clarity, when he experienced poverty of spirit, he was able to see clearly what he had lost. It is then that the bright light of love and hospitality illuminated a formerly dark life. That’s why Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit for they shall see God.”
Poverty of spirit grows in the soil of transparency, humility, and honesty. It dies when we place too much stock in our own accomplishments and status in life. It cannot survive self-serving arrogance that would demand one’s share of the family inheritance.
Prayer:
Our Father in heaven, we know you are the one who sprinted down the road to welcome his prodigal son. The story makes us sad as we are reminded of how dark our world becomes that we only think of ourselves. Help us to live in a way that is dependent on you alone and not on ourselves. In Jesus’ name. Amen.